Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Merry Christmas everyone, and hope you had a great and peaceful holiday season! Here's a look at January 2012's Vanity Trove! It's not a big Trove this time round, but there's a mix of all sorts of things - makeup, makeup remover, skincare, and food! Let's take a look.

First up, we have a full-sizes Essence Eye Shadow and a small sample of Albion Skin Conditioner. The Albion Skin Conditioner is quite small, so it's more of a "filler" item to me than anything else, but man, I'm so excited by the Essence eyeshadow! I didn't even know Essence had made it to Singapore! Now I know, and I also know that it's actually quite fairly priced here too! The eyeshadow was smooth and well-pigmented, and worth the price. In fact, I totally plan to make a trip down to buy myself more Essence products. Thanks Vanity Trove for the introduction!

Next, we have another product that gets lots of raves, the Bifesta Make-Up Remover. It's a micellar makeup remover, which has been quite popular lately (other brands I've written about are the Enavose FloraComfort Cleanser and the Bioderma Sensibio H2O). Although this is a sample, it's decently sized, and will give you quite a few uses. It also comes with their Japanese cotton pads, so that's a nice touch too. It is really great for those who want a makeup remover with the cleansing power of oil, but the feel of water.

The next thing - skincare products! This month I got a My Beauty Diary Mask, and a small sample pot of Yuskin Family Medical Cream. The mask is good for one-time application, and is not bad. The Yuskin Family Medical Cream is useful on body, hands and dry spots like elbows, but I find it less useful on the face.

Lastly, munchies! Here we have a TruLife Lingzhi Immunity Drink and a Slim Secrets Bar. The TruLife Lingzhi Immunity Drink is more of a general health product, and is suitable for the guys as well. The Slim Secrets Bar is meant to help as a weight loss aid by helping to provide a tasty outlet for your snack cravings.

There's also a small mini-magazine-cum-catalogue in there (accessible online here) that has writeups of the products as well as other tips and tricks.

Overall, this month's Vanity Trove lets you try out some highly-raved brands, and has a good mix of items. Most samples are also of a decent size, so that's great too. If you didn't like this Trove, there are others you can buy as well: a Superberry Trove, and a Mangoesteen Trove. For men, you can also get a Sasa Men Trove, a LAB SERIES Men Trove. Lastly, Vanity Trove is also having a giveaway: for people who subscribe to 3,6 or 12 months before 31 Dec, they stand a chance to win awesome goodies from Goldheart, Ujene and VanityTrove. So if you want to suscribe, better do soon to increase your chances of winning!

(Product was sent for review. Review is my complete and honest opinion. I am not affiliated with/compensated by the company. A member's link appears )

Sunday, December 23, 2012

For those who haven't heard yet, Make Up Store nail polished are buy-one-get-free for OCBC credit card holders. I don't have an OCBC card, but my friend did, so I dragged her down so that I could take advantage of the deal!

The polishes are SGD$22 each, so a BOGOF deal makes them $11, which is not expensive, but not super cheap either. Anyway, I found the colour selection somewhat limited, despite the large number of polishes they had. With the exception of some glass-flecked polished and holos (which are similar to the China Glaze holos I already have), nothing much stood out to me. So I only ended up getting two polishes.

The first is Tanja, which was love at first sight for me. It's a gorgeous military green, with a fine light green shimmer that is visible from the right angle. I was sold on this colour just for the shimmer - it just made colour so much more complex.

The second colour I got was Doreen (which is cute - I actually know a Doreen in real life!), a pinky-coral glass flecked polish. I love this shade. The pinky-coral shade looks good on all skintones, and I love a good glass fleck polish.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

I recently spent 2 weeks in Hong Kong, and I really enjoyed it there. The food is awesome, you don't need a car to get around, and there's something for everyone - shopping (both high-end and low-you-must-bargain-at-markets-end, sight-seeing, scenery, plenty to do both day and night! I totally ate til I was stuffed! The only thing is that the houses and apartments are really small (so by extension your hotel room won't be too large), and that not everyone there has a good command of English, so if like me you don't know any Cantonese, it can be a little daunting. But I loved it, and I have a small haul to show you!

Now you know I rarely do the huge hauls, because I already have a looot of makeup, but I can't resist adding to my collection every now and then. So here you go, a small haul! (I have to tell you. I am so, so proud of my self-control. You know how much self-restraint it took to not buy up everything in sight, huh? Huh?)

First, I got a couple of Lavshuca items. Lavshuca is one of the subsidiary brands under Japanese skincare and cosmetics brand Kanebo, but targeted at the drugstore market. You gotta love the pretty packaging! It was soooo hard picking just a couple of items, but I did it!

The first item I got was the Lavshuca Cheek Color in RD-1. They had 4 shades in all (PK-1, OR-1, RD-1 and RD-2) and this was my favourite. Although the name might make you think it's red, it's actually not. I'd call it a soft pink-coral. Very pretty. Best part? This was less than SGD$10 (~US$6-7), so it was a great deal!

The next Lavshuca item I bought was the Custom Selective Eyes Duo in BR-2. Lavshuca has so many eyeshadow palettes, but a lot of them had excessively glittery, unpigmented shades I knew I wouldn't use. And I didn't want to buy a palette knowing I'd only use half the shades in it. But then I saw this little baby, and it was love at first sight.

The Custom Selective Eyes Duos come in a sliding mechanism, so you can slide the entire lid off. What I love about BR-2 is that it's got both lovely colours, and the shades have gorgeous texture and good pigmentation. The first shade is a light antique golden brown, the second is a deeper brown. Now this is love at first sight!

Other than the makeup, I also got nail polish! I know it seems weird to get Revlon nail polish in Hong Kong, but these colours never reached Singapore, and they were discounted, so they were super cheap at only SGD$4 (~US$2-3). I know the US girls are used to picking up cheap drugstore makeup from Costco or the Dollar Store, but in Asia the makeup sales are extremely miserable by comparison - if you're lucky the drugstores give you 20% off, that's it. And this is not even considering the fact that US brands tend to jack up their prices in Asia, sometimes quite recklessly. So sometimes, even with the sales, it's not that great a deal compared to what folks in the US are paying. But anyway, enough with my ranting.

I got Whimsical (the Deborah Lippmann Glitter In The Air dupe), Naughty (Chanel Paradoxal dupe), and Popular (not a dupe of anything, but so pretty!). Yes, I know these have come and gone in the US, and are in the discount bins in Hong Kong, but they haven't even reached Singapore yet (and probably never will). See how sad my life is?

Aaand, now for the non-haul stuff: sightseeing! For the food photos, I actually took those on my iPhone instead, so if you want to see those, do follow me on Instagram as I'll be putting up my food pics there (like I always do)! This was the best photo I could get of the Hong Kong night scene. This was at Victoria Harbour, near Star Avenue.

We also went to Ocean Park, one of the theme parks there. I skipped Disneyland because I've already went to the one in Anaheim, and if you've been there, the other Disneylands are just pale copies of the original (not to mention all the narration for the rides are in Cantonese, which I don't understand). This is Ocean Park from the entrance. Those mascots are kinda scary ugly looking, but it looks a lot better on the inside!

And there we are, inside Ocean Park. I did tell you the inside was much nicer than the outside right? There was a lot of fun stuff to do here - rides, look at animals (they have like a mini-zoo inside there - there). I really enjoyed it!

And, a view of Victoria Harbour from Victoria Peak. Here you can really see how crowded Hong Kong is! I'm definitey a city kinda person, so I don't mind it :)

Lastly, a photo of the Star Ferry at Central pier. Remember when OPI put out that Hong Kong collection and a shade was called Meet Me On The Star Ferry? Yeah, this is the Star Ferry! (PS - I don't think anyone actually wants to meet on the Star Ferry. For one, it's not exactly a cruise liner and not that comfortable to meet someone on. And for another, the ride is like, 5 minutes? So I'm not sure how long you'd get to actually meet someone for on that ride...)

Saturday, December 15, 2012

BB creams have been a steady trend that's been going strong for the past few years, and the trend has even been exported from Asia to the West. A lot of these BB creams make very outlandish claims that are not always backed up by their ingredients list, so I thought I'd write a post on what exactly BB creams are, as opposed to how they are marketed. Because, you know, you can't always trust the marketing!

First, what is a BB cream? Why is it getting so much hype? Well, a lot of this is due to the marketing that goes behind these creams. They look like tinted moisturizer or foundation in tubes, but the marketing that accompanies these products is often crazily hyperbolic. Often BB creams promise a myriad of skincare benefits all at once (the most common combination is typically whitening, anti-wrinkle, and UV protection), which leads to the perception that these creams are good for your skin. CC creams also promise similar benefits - they're really just souped up BB creams, if you will.

Some of my non-Asian readers may not be as familiar with BB creams, so let me show you how crazy the hype and advertising can be, by looking at some of these ads. I kid you not, they do promise everything and the kitchen sink:

Above, your usual "whitening, anti-wrinkle, and UV protection" spiel. Below, a BB cream that promises to "supply moist and nutritional contents to keep smooth skin tone". I'm not too sure if "nutritional" is the right word...I mean, you don't exactly eat BB cream. Sure, what you put on your skin does affect the condition of your skin, but your skin doesn't really absorb nutrients in the same way that your stomach does, so you can't really supply nutrition to your skin this way. In fact, most of the time, the function of the skin is to act as a barrier between the environment and your innards, and keep germs and other nasties out.

More "triple functional" BB creams, with the usual "whitening, anti-wrinkle, and UV protection" spiel. Many of them, in fact. This one below has some sort of snail extract, which is supposed to have extra skincare benefits. Now I believe you shouldn't knock something til you've tried it, but I can't help thinking that it's just a bit gross. Snails = gross, slimy creatures. Do not want on face!

Contributing to the hype is the fact that some BB cream brands advertise themselves as having natural or organic ingredients, thus furthering the marketing story. As an example, this one below has "15 natural extracts an nutritious ingredients" for "added skincare benefits". Once again, I'm not sure exactly how BB cream (or any makeup product for that matter) can be nutritious to your skin.

Of course, now that Western brands have jumped on the bandwagon, they're no different. 8-in-1 skincare benefits? Really? Sheesh.

Part Two: Why write a post on BB creams?

Now that we're all on the same page on BB creams and what they are, the reason why I decided to write this post is because I feel like given the disproportionate amount of beauty claims these creams are making, most of these BB creams don't actually live up to the hype. In fact, some can actually aggravate acne and sensitive skin.

Both hae no shimmer, and nice texture and pigmentation. The paleness of the shades mean that they might look a little chalky on deeper complexions. I feel like the colours are kinda run of the mill but quite nice otherwise.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

You know that I love me some cuteness, so when I spotted these I just had to snap a photo for my blog! These are some Lip Smackers glosses and balms in the cutest flavors - I totally want a lipbalm that tastes just like Coca-Cola! (Actually, on second thought, I don't - I'd just end up eating up all my gloss and using it up in a week, LOL.)

Anyway I love when I come across stuff like this - it's cute and makes me smile. Is anyone else a sucker for such novelty items?

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Remember my last post on the Fall/Winter 2012/2013 nail trends? Well one of the things that was huge on the runway was this French manicure, with a nude base and dark tip:

I decided to try it out for myself to see how good it was in tea life, and I have to say, that this is pretty wearable.

Here, I used Rimmel Beige Style (totally the most underrated nude ever - why this isn't a cult favourite like OPI Tickle My Francey is beyond me), and I used Nails Inc Victoria, the perfect "oxblood" (that's what those runway folks are calling it, not me!) type colour for the season. It's also pretty opaque (one coat gives you full coverage) and so is perfect for these types of nail tips.

I actually freehanded the tips myself, and my key takeaway from this was that I should never attempt to freehand those tips, upon pain of death. I know I keep saying that I shouldn't freehand those tips, and then I keep on doing it, but it's because these things always look so much simpler than they really are! So I'm always thinking "I could do this!" until I actually do it, and then I'm like, "Oh crap."

I like the look, as these are very chic, but I feel like these aren't as practical as they look - once the tips start chipping, it becomes obvious that something is wrong with your manicure. But it does look great though, so maybe it might be worth the trouble for some.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Silkygirl is the Asian equivalent of Wet n' Wild - cheap, cheery, and sometimes the product quality is actually on par with that of higher-end brands. One of their most popular products is their blush. You can check out the Silkygirl site to see the name of this blush - I'm not actually sure whether the name is Blush Hour (which is the name on the store label) or just Blush. Anyway here are searches:

01 Nectar Blush is a light pinky peach.
02 Dune Rose is a light pink duskier than Nectar Blush.
03 Flashing Rose is a light warm pink, more pink than Nectar Blush, brighter than Dune Rose.
04 Honeywood is actually a nice warm nude that's quite wearable, although it just doesn't stand out as much against the brighter, lighter pink shades. It's not too dark for fair skintones.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Exposed is the latest brand of nail polish to come to Singapore from the UK, and boy, for a cheap-and-cheery range, they sure have a lot of colours! In Singapore Exposed is carried by GlamoGirl (who by the way also carries a lot of other brands), and you can check out the full range there.

I've got a few of their nail polishes and I thought I'd swatch them for you :) For $12, some of these colours really rock!

First up, we have Cappuchin 18. I actually picked this because I thought it would be a chic nude. On my skintone, it's actually a little darker, but still tres chic. It's a soft coffee brown, and surprisingly actually really nice looking on my skintone! I don't always wear browns, but this is pretty and wearable. There's a nice shimmer too.

Next, we have Flirt 40. I have to tell you, the moment I saw this online in other people's swatches, I HAD to have it. It's a gorgeous pink-purple duochrome that sometimes leans gold, and reminds me of Max Factor's beloved Fantasy Fire, or that hard-to-get Orly Fantasea - the duochrome and base colour are really similar. If you're tired of hunting around for rare polishes, this is a good alternative. Like Fantasy Fire and Fantasea, this one is sheer, so you can layer it over other colours (purple, black, blue, pink, red - the possibilities are endless), but for the sake of swatching, 3 coats as shown below gives you full opacity. Nice!

Third is Dazzle 42. This is a gorgeous round holographic shimmer in a pinky-purple tinged base. I think this is best for layering since the base is sheer. Here I'm wearing it over Essie Footloose, and I'm loving the combo! What can I say - any polish with glitter gets automatic love in my book.

Next, we have Aruba 52. This is by far my favourite - and I think it's going to be hot for Spring. One of the Spring 2013 trend colours identified by Pantone is a faded, slightly pastel-looking jade shade called Greyed Jade, and Aruba falls squarely into this colour family, so it will be a great pick for carrying off the upcoming season's colour trends. This polish is very wearable even for people who aren't comfortable green, because it's a toned-down, slightly more sophisticated shade of jade green. I love this. Very chic, fashion-forward but still wearable. Normally I wouldn't expect a colour as subtle as this to come from a drugstore brand like Exposed, but it just goes to show you can get great colours for cheap.

I also have Aqua Baby 59, which is a bright, bright blue-leaning turquoise shade. You know I love turquoise shades, so this is definitely up my alley. It's actually surprised me by drying to a rubber-like finish, which I thought was pretty cool, as you can see in the pics below.

I also top coated over it, so you can see what it looks like with a glossy finish. Beautiful, ain't it? I love this colour - it's a bright shade, very Spring/Summer in feel. And it's also quite universally flattering - because it's got both green and blue tones in it, it will look good on a variety of skintones.

Last but certainly not least, Parisan Night 62. Oh la la, this is another gorgeous shade, and what a romantic name, too. This is another complex not-usually-found-in-drugstore-lines colour. It's a lovely greyed smokey blue, but there is a little bit of blue flash too. What I love about this shade is that it always looks smokey blue, even in low light conditions - it never looks black. And it's a really understated, chic colour, too.

Overall, I really like these polishes. Application-wise, these are good, but not spectacular - nothing made me go "Great application!" when I was painting, but nothing made me go "Yucks", either. Coverage is good, too - with the exception of Flirt and Dazzle, everything gives full opacity in 2 coats. Lastly, I definitely appreciate the colour range, and complexity of colours. In Singapore, drugstore lines don't really carry too many shades, so I totally feel spoiled for choice with Exposed. Exposed is available at the GlamoGirl website.

(Product was sent for review. Review is my complete and honest opinion. I am not affiliated with/compensated by the company.)

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Tired of fighting your eyebags? Struggling to get enough sleep every night? Tired of spending money on useless eyecreams? Now here's your solution! Leave your eyebags be! Because apparently one of the beauty trends going around is to give yourself eyebags!

Apparently the inspiration for this trend is that Korean actresses have eyebags, and some people actually think that these acresses look better WITH their eyebags, than without. (You can view a rather bizarre post on this trend here.) Thus, Korean-actress-fandom reasoning says, if their stars look better with eyebags, so will the average girl! In the blogpost I mentioned above, there are some photos of celebs with/without eyebags and the comparisons are made between them.

I don't know about you, but I've never been a fan of the "it-looks-good-on-a-celebrity-thus-it-would-look-good-on-me" line of logic. I mean, how many of us can pull off the runway fashions like the models? And in anycase, while I do agree that if you are an actress, sometimes eyebags give the character you're playing a certain realism, e.g. if you're playing a harried working mother-of-three, then I guess a flawless looking character won't look realistic. Still, I do think that by and large, most people look much better without eyebags than with. And I don't think I've ever seen a photo of a star with/without eyebags and thought "Man she looks much better with eyebags!" I think the whole trend arose because some girls felt that their eyes were too small, and that having those eyebags draws attention to them.

But in anycase, if for some reason you don't have eyebags but want them, here now is your problem solved! You can use double eyelid tape (yes, tape to stick on your eyes to fake that crease is quite commonplace in Korea already) to give yourself eyebags! Talk about double duty!

Blech. Seriously? This is the dumbest trend ever. First, I maintain that I don't think anyone looks better with eyebags than without, and secondly, keep doing this on a regular basis, and 5 years from now, your 30-year-old eyes will have 40-year-old wrinkles, thanks to all the pulling and tugging at the delicate skin around the eye area. Yucks.

In anycase, I am now at least on board with ONE trend. I've never been the trendy kind, but now I am, LOL! Yes, this is because yours truly has HUGE eyebags (blame the work schedules, and the little sleep). Look at the most recent photo of me on FB, taken at an event. Those eyebags, baby, are 100% real. No tape! (So are the pimples, I'm afraid - I do have problematic skin.)

Maybe I'm not a Korean actress, but you know, I kinda prefer myself WITHOUT those darn eyebags. But, hey, I'm totally fashionable now!

Of course, while this may seem a little strange, every country and every culture has their own crazy beauty trends - it's not just us in Asia! I just write about the Asian ones more because, well, I'm Asian, and I'm living in Asia, so this is what I come into contact with. But for what it's worth, the West sure has crazy beauty trends, and crazy people too - every now and then I come across news coverage on tanning addicts, and I always get a little freaked out. Now, can someone make pimples in fashion, so that my acne can be on-trend too? LOL.